Successful plays about ideas tend to be by men. There are exceptions: Yazmina Reza, and Caryl Churchill if you like heavy-handed agitprop. Otherwise Messrs Stoppard, Hare, Frayn etc. have had few female competitors in the West End – until now. With The Female of the Species – a sparkling new comedy at the Vaudeville – Joanna Murray-Smith arguably joins that select band.

An old 1970s joke goes: “How many feminists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?” Answer: “That’s not funny.” It’s not true that feminists are humourless, especially nowadays. But if you were looking for that steadfast refusal to be amused that was once associated with the women’s movement, you can certainly find it in the reviews that have greeted this play. Many of these reviews are actually by men of a certain age and they suggest that this lightweight but clever play has touched a sensitive generational and cultural nerve.